More Family Tree...
Marilyn had another long, super-busy day at work. She's had quite a tough week, poor thing. She's exhausted and sound asleep on the sofa.
And, yes, I spent another day researching the family tree.
I think I'm driving both Sue and Marilyn nuts with all this family tree stuff. It's all I want to talk about! Every time I find something new, I want to share it with someone.
And I did talk at one point to Vern, another poor victim of my excitement. Hahaha.
Basically, I have this huge, flat box that fits under my bed. But it's still HUGE (like I said). It's full of family letters and documents and certificates and keepsakes. And I've been sorting through the contents today.
I found Mom's notes which appear to confirm our relationship to Etienne Lucier. (By the way, I'm amused how Wikipedia makes it sound like John McLoughlin did him a huge favor by giving him farming supplies! Here are the facts: Etienne Lucier built a house in what is now East Portland on the bluff near the mouth of the gulch where boating parties would stop to camp. McLoughlin decided he needed the area, and Lucier had to move on. In other words, McLoughlin chased him out, so he helped him start up his farm, which seems pretty fair to me! Hahaha. I need to further review her handwritten notes, but I was surprised to discover them in the first place...
And I made headway on Aunt Mabel and Uncle Al today! On the folder card they give out at funerals, there is NO birthday for Uncle Al. There's reason to believe they didn't know the year of his birth. But I finally (after a lot of searching) found a Census from 1930 that gave me some interesting information about both of them. So I confirmed what I had guessed, that he was born in 1890.
In 1930, Uncle Al was unable to read and write. Well, I assume both, as he never did learn to write. He used to practice signing his name, and I have to small sheets of paper where he did exactly that. But he read very well when I knew him. So at some point he did learn to read. And he was a voracious reader! To talk to him, you would have found him a brilliant man, in spite of his inability to write. I remember being told he only went to school through the third grade, as he had to go to work. It was quite common back then.
I need to find and share a photo of them. I have some good ones that I've found! Marilyn, Sue and I just loved both of them so much!
Anyway, it's late, so I'm heading to bed.
I need to FORCE MYSELF not to spend all my time on this! I can't seem to tear myself away!!! I'm just so obsessed right now! It's like a fascinating puzzle. I really do need to scan some photos!!!
Tomorrow I'm doing OTHER THINGS. I mean it!
Interesting note: It looks like Grandpa Harry could read Swedish -- and maybe speak it, too. I found a note to him written in Swedish, anyway.
At Ancestry.Com there's another family tree that has DIFFERING information about how the family line traces back from Grandpa Ed! It lists different names for his father and mother than I have... Mom did massive research using a book called "The Mantle of Elias" -- with a TON of tiny print she had to work her way through. (That's the whole Etienne thing, by the way.)
Okay, I'm stopping this now! Hahaha. But it is fascinating!!!
Sweet dreams, my friends!
And, yes, I spent another day researching the family tree.
I think I'm driving both Sue and Marilyn nuts with all this family tree stuff. It's all I want to talk about! Every time I find something new, I want to share it with someone.
And I did talk at one point to Vern, another poor victim of my excitement. Hahaha.
Basically, I have this huge, flat box that fits under my bed. But it's still HUGE (like I said). It's full of family letters and documents and certificates and keepsakes. And I've been sorting through the contents today.
I found Mom's notes which appear to confirm our relationship to Etienne Lucier. (By the way, I'm amused how Wikipedia makes it sound like John McLoughlin did him a huge favor by giving him farming supplies! Here are the facts: Etienne Lucier built a house in what is now East Portland on the bluff near the mouth of the gulch where boating parties would stop to camp. McLoughlin decided he needed the area, and Lucier had to move on. In other words, McLoughlin chased him out, so he helped him start up his farm, which seems pretty fair to me! Hahaha. I need to further review her handwritten notes, but I was surprised to discover them in the first place...
And I made headway on Aunt Mabel and Uncle Al today! On the folder card they give out at funerals, there is NO birthday for Uncle Al. There's reason to believe they didn't know the year of his birth. But I finally (after a lot of searching) found a Census from 1930 that gave me some interesting information about both of them. So I confirmed what I had guessed, that he was born in 1890.
In 1930, Uncle Al was unable to read and write. Well, I assume both, as he never did learn to write. He used to practice signing his name, and I have to small sheets of paper where he did exactly that. But he read very well when I knew him. So at some point he did learn to read. And he was a voracious reader! To talk to him, you would have found him a brilliant man, in spite of his inability to write. I remember being told he only went to school through the third grade, as he had to go to work. It was quite common back then.
I need to find and share a photo of them. I have some good ones that I've found! Marilyn, Sue and I just loved both of them so much!
Anyway, it's late, so I'm heading to bed.
I need to FORCE MYSELF not to spend all my time on this! I can't seem to tear myself away!!! I'm just so obsessed right now! It's like a fascinating puzzle. I really do need to scan some photos!!!
Tomorrow I'm doing OTHER THINGS. I mean it!
Interesting note: It looks like Grandpa Harry could read Swedish -- and maybe speak it, too. I found a note to him written in Swedish, anyway.
At Ancestry.Com there's another family tree that has DIFFERING information about how the family line traces back from Grandpa Ed! It lists different names for his father and mother than I have... Mom did massive research using a book called "The Mantle of Elias" -- with a TON of tiny print she had to work her way through. (That's the whole Etienne thing, by the way.)
Okay, I'm stopping this now! Hahaha. But it is fascinating!!!
Sweet dreams, my friends!